August 16 2013

​​In this edition of Fast Five on Friday, you will find articles on the following:

How to Access Photos from the Aug. 8 Recognition Ceremony Celebrating SB 97 at the Capitol Rotunda and Link to Recording of Ceremony

District Total Adopting SB 97 Policy Goes to 122

Website Data Collection on Superintendents’ Contracts and Benefits Information (Note: August 31deadline for submission of superintendent contracts and benefits)

Improvement in Access to Online Training for Restraint and Seclusion

Reminder to Register for the September 5th Superintendents’ Summit (Note: Registration deadline is Aug. 19.)

Next Superintendents’ Webcast on August 27th

Update on Superintendent Evaluation Work

Commissioner’s Blog This Week

Main Content

Fast Five on Friday

(Eight this Week)

How to Access Photos from the Aug. 8 Recognition Ceremony Celebrating SB 97 at the Capitol Rotunda and Link to Recording of Ceremony – If you and/or your board chair attended the August 8th recognition ceremony for districts that had passed a policy raising the compulsory attendance age to 18, the photos made with the Governor and myself are now available by going to the following website: http://www.flickr.com/photos/govbeshear/sets/72157635082437935/.

Website Data Collection on Superintendents’ Contracts and Benefits Information – Please remember that KDE superintendent contracts and benefits information must be submitted by August 31, 2013. Information should be submitted by your finance officer (or appropriate designees) through this link: https://odss.education.ky.gov/webforms. If have any questions about submission of this data, please contact Carol Buell at carol.buell@education.ky.gov or 502-564-3846.

Improvement in Access to Online Training for Restraint and Seclusion – As of August 15, 2013, more than 35,000 users had registered for the online training KDE has provided for 704 KAR 7:160, Use of Physical Restraint in Public Schools. While we are excited about the overwhelming response to the online training, we learned that the large number of users created an overload on the PBS site, resulting in users not being able to access and complete the training modules.

On Tuesday, PBS and KET provided an interim solution that KDE shared with the districts that had reported access problems. On Wednesday, PBS migrated the training modules to the largest possible server, and KDE has had no reports of access difficulties since that time.

The fastest link to modules for group training is available here. Principals or administrators completing the training in a group setting, and wishing to obtain KET certificates, will need to use the PPBIS Group Participant List link, available here, to trigger an automatic download of a group sign-in sheet. Enter the names of the attendees, return the sign-in sheet to pd@ket.org, and KET will e-mail or mail the group facilitator customized certificates of completion for each participant.

In light of the mitigating circumstances presented by these unforeseen and inconvenient technical problems, KDE, in consultation with its legal staff, has determined that reasonable and slight delays in training are acceptable, so long as districts continue to make their best efforts to comply with the training requirement as soon as possible.

Thank you for your use of the PBIS training modules, and continued patience as adjustments are made to accommodate the popularity of this free training option.

Reminder to register for Sept. 5 Superintendents’ Summit – The Superintendents’ Summit is quickly approaching. Remember to register for the Summit by contacting Thelma Whiteside at Thelma.Whiteside@education.ky.gov or calling her at (502) 564 – 2106 by Aug. 19.

The date is September 5th from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET in the Ballroom of the Capital Plaza Hotel in Frankfort. Lunch will be provided. The topics will include the Kentucky School Boards Insurance Trust (KSBIT), meeting delivery targets, and budget.

Remember this is only for superintendents, or if you cannot attend, for one designee.

Next Superintendents’ Webcast on August 27th – Please put August 27th on your calendars for the next superintendents’ webcast. It will occur from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. ET with the topics being K-PREP Assessment Timeline and Timeline for EXPLORE/PLAN Replacement, Superintendent Evaluation Process Update, CSIP/CDIP Update and High Speed Network Update.

Update on Superintendent Evaluation Work – The Next-Generation Superintendent Effectiveness Steering Committee met for its first meeting on Thursday, 8-15-13, in the Capital Plaza Tower’s State Board Room with Dr. Tommy Floyd chairing the meeting. In attendance were Kentucky superintendents and representatives of KASS, KASA, KSBA, EPSB, CPE, GRREC and KDE.

The three "take-aways" from this first meeting are:• This is indeed a formative process going forward.• Board/superintendent flexibility is a major focus and priority of the model.• Options for support of a "local board-developed model" will also be a priority as the process goes forward.

This was a great first meeting with lots of dialogue about the process, timelines, and flexibility. The next meeting is scheduled for October 17.

KDE thanks all who participated or gave input either face to face or via Lync. Great optimism was expressed in the future collaboration to occur during this process for all Kentucky superintendents, board teams and others that are involved.